My son has been taking tennis lessons through the sports programming here on the island, and he really enjoys it. In fact, he said to me the other day at the end of his lesson, "I can't wait to play with Grandpa." Tennis blood kind of "runs" in my family, so to speak. It's the only sport I ever really remember my dad playing or really getting into watching on TV, and my mom used to play all the time when I was a little girl into my pre-teen years. For several summers in a row, my family spent 2 weeks on vacation in Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island, Florida at a doctor friend's condo right on the beach. There was a tennis court in the complex, and my mom taught me to play tennis there. The last year we stayed there, she was teaching me backhand, and we never really finished, so I blame her for my struggles with my tennis backhand still today. :) Seriously, that's just an excuse. I loved those days of learning to play tennis from my mom at the beach and my dad, who used to set up the ball machine when I was a teenager on weekends at his house, so I could practice. I never played on a team, but I did take tennis classes again in college, and I do still really enjoy playing when I have a chance, which is not even as close to as often as I'd like.
It's fun watching my son get into it and practice with his coach. They were working on backhand last week, which reminded me of the days with my mom teaching me, so I told him all about how I learned to play and how I still have to use two hands for a strong backhand swing since I don't play that often. I look forward to seeing my parents in a couple of weeks and playing some tennis with my son and "grandpa." It's one of the few sports that my son doesn't seem to feel any pressure when playing, pressure to catch the football and make a touchdown or score the goal in soccer. There's no pressure from the coaches, who can sometimes take a "tougher" stance when working with kids in a team sport. Tennis is about honing your individual skills to compete against other individual or pairs. It also seems to have held its own as one of the more refined sports. There does not appear to be the rowdy fans in the audience, the drama over how much players are getting paid, or even the gambling and fanaticism that some sports have which turns me off to wanting to have anything to do with them.
No sport is perfect, but tennis is one, for me, that I am more attracted to than football, basketball, or the likes of which I see dominated by cocky players, media nightmares, and the amount of money, money, money, money that can be made for playing. I am one of those idealists who believes you should play sports professionally or teach and write professionally, or become a doctor professionally, etc...because it's what you love to do. It's your passion. It's not about money or fame or power, it's about doing what you were born to do. If at some point, you lose that passion or get too caught up in the other aspects that sometimes accompany that career or sport, then maybe it's time to reevaluate what your motives are. We all lose sight sometimes, but it's important that we always take time to look within ourselves to ensure we stay on the right and best track in life.
I never want to force my children to do anything in terms of sports, career, etc...that they don't absolutely love doing. If it becomes something they are miserable doing or if they are more focused on winning or being popular because of that sport, I hope I'll have the strength to speak with them honestly about that and help them to refocus. More than anything, I hope the example I set for them will teach them to never stop looking within to determine what is right and to stay on track toward their purpose and their potential in life. If I can set that one example for them along with showing them how important it is to love and have faith in God, others, and themselves, then I believe they will go far in life and most importantly find peace and contentment no matter what they do or who they become in life.
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